New Doctor Who star Michelle Greenidge discovered that the cast and crew of the sci-fi show were like a loving family when she joined to play Ruby Sunday’s mum Carla in the latest series. Her co-stars and the behind-the-scenes team all gave her strength and support following the death of her father just as filming began in Wales last year.
“My father passed away and that was a huge challenge for me,” she says. “I was so well looked after and supported and I just took it day by day. It’s a challenge we all face at some point or another, and you don’t know when these things are going to happen. But I couldn’t have been working on a better production. Everybody was so kind and looked after me.”
Michelle first appeared in Doctor Who in 2023’s Christmas special, The Church On Ruby Road – the episode that also marked Ncuti Gatwa’s first major appearance as the 15th Doctor and introduced his new companion, Ruby (Millie Gibson). Her character Carla is a foster mum who adopts Ruby, and the Yorkshire actress received lots of positive feedback from fans following her debut in the Christmas Day episode.
“People have reached out to me specifically about the positive representation of adopting and fostering on screen,” she says. “I’m so blessed to have been in the position to play Carla and tell that story with Ruby Sunday, because I don’t think there’s enough positive representation about foster families on TV. And I feel extremely blessed that [writer/producer] Russell T Davies has pulled out all the stops to share these stories because they’re important stories that should be told.”
The actress returns as Carla in the new eight-part series, which kicks off on Saturday 11 May with an episode entitled Space Babies . But Michelle isn’t able to say too much about what happens in the upcoming episodes as they are, of course, a closely-guarded secret. When asked if Carla gets to travel in the TARDIS, Michelle laughs and replies, “I can’t tell you that!
“I can say we see more of Ruby and Carla’s relationship,” she says, “but I can’t say too much, except you’re in for a treat. Russell has pulled out all the stops. He’s the most amazing storyteller, and it’s not just each episode, which are individually brilliant across the whole series. It’s how the story arcs play into the entire series. I’m really excited for everybody to see what Russell has rustled up!”
Michelle is a huge fan of Russell T Davies (“I love him to bits”), having also appeared in his acclaimed TV series It’s A Sin and also has nothing but praise for her 19-year-old co-star Millie, who played Kelly Neelan in Coronation Street.
“Millie is an incredible young actress,” she says. “For someone so young, she moves effortlessly through playing her role and she’s incredibly talented. A total joy to work with, and she’s a beautiful girl inside and out.” She is a big supporter of the new Doctor, Ncuti, too, having already played some emotional scenes with him in the Christmas special.
“Ncuti is amazing. I’ve said this before, he was absolutely born to play the Doctor. His energy, his charisma, his individuality all make him perfect for the role. We have fun, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. He’s very warm and he’s such a gorgeous soul. We just have the most fun. Often my make-up needs retouching because I’m spending so much time laughing. I absolutely love Ncuti.”
The new series of Doctor Who arrives on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ on May 11th 2024. Episode one broadcasts on BBC1 at 6.20pm followed by episode two
